CAPO News

Abstracts are due by 11:59 PST, April 5, 2024

The Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology (CAPO) is accepting abstracts for posters for the 39th Annual Conference to be held in Calgary, Alberta from June 6 to 7, 2024. The conference will not be offered virtually this year.

The CAPO 2024 Scientific Committee will select abstracts for additional posters by April 26, 2024. The submitting author will receive an email with the decision. If a primary author cannot attend the conference, that author should assign a replacement. The scientific committee reserves the right to reallocate abstracts as necessary. All presenting authors must register for the conference.
 
For abstract-related inquiries, please contact [email protected]

SUBMIT A POSTER ABSTRACT HERE

VIEW ABSTRACT GUIDELINES HERE

The spirit and intent of the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology is to have Board representation across many disciplines, while also considering a national and regional composition, to further support our vision and mission.

The Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology (CAPO) promotes an equitable, diverse, inclusive, accessible, and culturally safe environment for all members to feel welcomed, valued, and integrated. CAPO ensures that all voices are heard.

We have openings for five (5) positions to be filled in this years election for the 2024 - 2026 term. The board endeavours to ensure that a balance of disciplines is filled to meet the current needs of the organization. With our most recent bylaw amendments approved at a special meeting of our members, we are pleased to open a second position as a Director for a patient/family representative starting this term.

Nominations are being sought from the following fields:

• Rehabilitation Services, Member at large, Spiritual/pastoral Care, Medicine, Patient/family, Psychology, Social Work, Nursing

Our particular interest is in seeking members to represent rehabilitation, spiritual/pastoral care and member at large

DOWNLOAD FORM HERE

2024 Current Oncology Student Travel Award 

The deadline to submit is March 25, 2024
 
The Current Oncology Student Travel Award is established by Current Oncology to acknowledge the exemplary work of a trainee presenting psycho-oncology research and to promote the dissemination of information related to psychosocial care.

This annual CAPO award has been developed in partnership with Current Oncology to honour a CAPO student member who has demonstrated excellence in their submission of an original paper. This award will be given annually to coincide with CAPO’s Annual Conference. 

This award is open to students and may reflect one or more of either clinical practice, education or research in psychosocial oncology.  

The recipient of the award will receive $1000.00 to assist with travel to the CAPO Conference. The winner will be asked to present the paper at the conference and registration fees will be waived. 

Procedures and Eligibility: 

• The applicant must be a current member in good standing of CAPO at the time of the application;
• The applicant must be registered as a full-time or part-time student (undergraduate, graduate or post-graduate levels) or within six months of completion of their schooling;
• The recipient of the award must agree to be present at the annual CAPO Conference with a 15-minute presentation of their paper;
• The recipient of the award must agree to submit their paper for peer-review in Current Oncology to be published if accepted (i.e., the paper cannot have been published elsewhere). Publication fees will be waived.

The Awards Committee of the CAPO Board will select a recipient from the applicants based on scores and recommendations from the reviewers. If no suitable applicants are chosen, no award will be given. 

Submit an original paper/manuscript by March 25, 2024 that is no more than 4000 words for an original article or review and 2500 words for a case report in length (12-point font and double spaced, excludes tables/references).

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT

Call for award nominations now open

CAPO is committed to fostering and encouraging interdisciplinary excellence in psychosocial research education and clinical practice in oncology. To recognize achievements in the advancement of psychosocial oncology, the organization offers several awards programs.

• Awards of Excellence
• • CAPO Award for Clinical Excellence 
  • CAPO Award of Education Excellence 
  • CAPO Award for Research Excellence 
• Early Career Investigator Award
• CAPO Innovation Award
• Lifetime Achievement Award

For further information about CAPO Awards Programs please contact Peter Traversa at [email protected].

Deadline for nomination submissions is April 12, 2024.

• Job Title
  Health Care Social Worker (Masters)

• Company
  Nova Scotia Health

• Department
  Oncology Social Work
  

Job Description

• Reporting to the Health Services Manager, Cancer Care, NZ, the Health Care Social Worker provides a diverse range of interventions to clients and their families, enabling them to achieve their optimal level of functioning and health. These interventions include: psychosocial assessments, adjustment therapy, supportive therapy, crisis counselling, resource counselling, and discharge planning and case management.

• Health Care Social Workers are actively involved in advocacy, education, program planning, consultation and collaboration on behalf of individuals/groups within the institution and community.
  
  

Qualifications

• Master of Social Work Degree from an accredited university
• Current registration and membership in the Nova Scotia Association of Social Workers and Canadian Association of Social Workers
• Two (2) years clinical experience as a Registered Social Worker required
• Strong counselling and communication skillse
• LEAP Palliative care training preferred
• Knowledge of the fundamentals of human behaviour including systems theory, family dynamics, group dynamics and theories of behaviour change. Leap palliative care training preferred.

• 
  

• Application Instructions
  Applicants are encouraged to send their resume, cover letter and salary expectations.
  
  

• Submit by Date
  11/19/2023

APPLY HERE

DEPARTMENT:
Cancer Support

JOB OVERVIEW:

Senior Information Specialists for the Cancer Information Helpline respond to inquiries from Canadians, mostly in French, who are living with a cancer diagnosis, their loves ones and friends, and health care professionals through phone, Live Chat and email. They provide emotional support and compassionate understanding as appropriate to the circumstances of the client, answer questions about cancer, cancer treatment and related topics, and connect clients with resources within CCS or other organizations to meet information and supportive care needs they express. In addition, the Senior Information Specialists may answer questions from members of the general public about cancer prevention, screening or cancer statistics published by the CCS.

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING:

• Responds to cancer information inquiries from people with cancer, their loved ones and friends and health care professionals by telephone, Livechat, e-mail and referrals on core topics such as cancer diagnoses, treatments, side effects, coping strategies, pain and side-effect management, clinical trials, screening, practical cancer support services, and more.
• Assesses, researches and selects information tailored to each client's situation and information needs from appropriate resources; communicates information during the contact and follows up with additional informational and/or resources by email, as needed
• Uses expert communications skills and probes to assist callers to identify their psychosocial needs and concerns, and offers appropriate resources and referrals in response
• Provides understanding and compassion, and addresses emotional upset and distress, using active listening and supportive care communications skills, thereby creating an environment of support and high quality experience
• Functions as the first direct line to CCS, responding to complex, nuanced questions about cancer and communicating the CCS organizational position regarding key issues both verbally and in writing.
• Communicates professionally with attention to sensitivity, clarity and without personal bias.
• Participates in self-directed learning to maintain expected knowledge base, acquires new knowledge/information and keeps abreast of the latest developments in oncology and related fields in a complex, quickly changing environment
• Navigates the CCS ecosystem to identify and source information to address client concerns/issues - raising issues and risks proactively for the organization (horizon scanning) and provides resources to CCS that inform current topics/issues
• Uses interview techniques to sensitively collect client data, and records data for each client interaction in the helpline CRM
• Engages QA feedback process to address challenges in data capture and recording, and uses new techniques as provided
• Works in collaboration with the Cancer Information department to identify information gaps required by the helpline, and shares resources from external resources when identified as potential inputs for Cancer Information
• Ongoing training and knowledge transfer activities to advance core knowledge and skills, such as newly-published COVID-19 public health and vaccine protocols, AYA and onco-fertility, and the experiences of people living with advanced cancer.
• Contacts clients on outbound basis when referred to the helplines by CCS referral pathway partners
• Contributes to special projects as requested to support CCS mission; supporting COVID-19 initiatives, supporting navigation to key cancer system supports as outlined by the Canadian Cancer Control Strategy, updating CSL listings, enhanced client support for virtual access to wigs and prostheses, supporting other CCS grants/programs (e.g. BETTER Women program)
  
  

QUALIFICATIONS

• At least a bachelor's degree in health sciences, e.g. nursing, biology, nutrition, occupational therapy or a related field
• At least 1 year of some practical or job-related experience;
• Experience in a front-line, public-facing professional environment or role
• An excellent command of French and English in oral and written forms.
• Ability to multi-task
• Experience in the use of common computer software (Office suite or others)
• minimum of one year of related practical or clinical experience, or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience
• Examples of behavioural competency: Strong client service, supportive care, communication, active listening and interpersonal skills which contribute to a compassionate and caring experience
• Strong information management and analytic skills, and excellent attention to detail, which contribute to high quality mission outcomes
• Data management and database acumen; ability to sensitively collect personal information from clients, and accurate entry of client data in the CRM, which contributes to the CCS mission data strategy analytics, KPI reporting, and operational analyses
• Expert verbal and written communication skills including the ability to communicate complex cancer information in a clear and understandable manner, write clearly and succinctly in a variety of communication settings and styles;
• Ability to identify and escalate organizational risks as identified through workload.

CITY:
This position can be based anywhere in Canada

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Applicants are encouraged to send their resume, cover letter and salary expectations.

APPLY BY:

09/08/2023

APPLY HERE

The purpose of this presentation is to provide participants with an overview of the work undertaken by the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology to encourage and establish minimum benchmarks in hiring practices for PSO programming in Canada. This presentation will highlight the framework and an on-line calculator available to determine staffing ratios.
Members of the Clinical Advisory Committee for CAPO reviewed the literature and met over two years with leaders in the field to gain consensus on various factors to be considered for hiring PSO professionals. Ten factors shape the framework using the example of MSWs working in tertiary cancer centres. What makes the framework unique is the inter-connection between the scope of practice, work setting, recognition of distress in PSO care and pragmatic factors such as allocation of time and cancer cases that informs the number of PSO professionals to be hired. The presenters will also review how to access the online calculator to input data to arrive at a recommended staffing ratio. The framework is fluid, continues to evolve and can be adapted for other disciplines

FEATURING:

Dr. Carole R. Mayer PhD. RSW

CO- PRESENTERS:

Marianne Arab
Kimberley Thibodeau, MSW, CFT

DATE: Thursday, October 26, 2023, 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EDT

Webinar registration now open :

• FREE to CAPO Members. 
• FREE to non-members

REGISTER HERE

Webinar access details will be provided in your registration confirmation email. Pending quality of recording, this webcast will be available within 30 days of the live webinar.

If you are not a current member of CAPO, find out more about membership by going to https://capo.ca/apply

The Bultz best student oral award recognizes a student member of the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology for an oral research presentation demonstrating excellence in psychosocial oncology research in Canada.

Congratulations to award winners Justine Albert and Lily Rogers.

Congratulations to award winner Justine- Albert -Experiences of informal caregivers regarding MAiD in Canada: A Narrative Review

Congratulations to award winner Lily Rogers -Transforming Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Care through Creativity and Theatre

The Bultz Student Award Series was established to honour the vision and memory of Ben and Molly Bultz, and is a tribute to their compassion, love of education and generousity of spirit.
The Bultz best student poster award recognizes a student member of the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology, for a poster presentation of a research project demonstrating excellence in psychosocial oncology research in Canada.
 
Congratulations to award winner Katherine-Anne Piedalue - High-Fidelity Testing in a Smartphone App to Treat Insomnia in Cancer Survivors (iCANSleep App)

The Canadian Virtual Hospice has established an award to acknowledge the exemplary work of psychosocial oncology professionals and students.
The purpose of this award is to promote progress in research, education and clinical practice in the area of palliative care and grief and the dissemination of information related to the psychosocial care. It is given to support oncology professionals in continuing education activities.

Congratulations to award winner Sarah Alonzi - Mortality-Focused Language of Palliative Care Descriptions and Clinician Willingness to Recommend the Service